28.09.2026: Creative Industries Minister Ian Murray promised a UK Music audience that the Government would speed through a long promised crackdown on ticket touts “quicker than we initially intended”.
Speaking at a packed UK Music fringe event at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Monday September 28, Ian Murray said he fully understood the pressure for action on secondary ticketing sales in the form of government legislation.
Mr Murray said: “£400,000 a day leaves the pockets of fans and goes into the pockets of touts through ticketing. That has to be resolved.
“We have got the draft bill coming as quicky as possible. I am hopeful we will be able to progress that quicker than we initially intended. That would be a really good step forward.”
The move was welcomed after the panel event by UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl who said: “It’s very welcome to hear the Government is pressing ahead with the promise made in Labour’s pre-election manifesto to deal with the menace of ticket touts. Fans have waited far too long for action.”
Mr Murray revealed the Government’s intention to press ahead with the clampdown on touts at the UK Music panel event where the theme was ‘Madchesterism: Putting Music at the Heart of Devolution’.
The panellists at the event, chaired by UK Music’s Tom Kiehl, were Creative Industries Minister Rt Hon Ian Murray MP, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Music Co-Chair Alex Sobel MP, Musicians’ Union General Secretary Naomi Pohl, BPI Chief Executive Dr Jo Twist OBE and UK Music’s Head of Diversity Eunice Obianagha.
Tom Kiehl said the aim of the event was for the audience and panel to discuss how the Government’s devolution agenda could work for the music industry.
He said that while the panel was talking about devolution of powers, it was important to remember that some issues would still require national and international leadership and decision-making such as copyright, intellectual property and artificial intelligence.
On devolution, Mr Murray said: “The Prime Minister has been very clear that he wants growth in every postcode. We can’t have growth in every postcode without access to culture and music in every postcode – and that’s the real challenge.”
Jo Twist highlighted some examples which had worked “brilliantly”. She said: “Working with Newcastle City Council and the North East Combined Authority, we took the Mercury Prize, which celebrates the best albums, outside London for the first time and hosted it in Newcastle. What we wanted to do was work in partnership with local partners who know the area and the ecosystem to shine a light on the music city that is Newcastle.”
On the issue of safeguarding the future of the BBC, Mr Murray told the audience: “There are a lot of dark forces out there who want the BBC either shut down or completely commercialised. So, if we care about the BBC which we all do, and we want the BBC do all those wonderful things that Jo and Alex have just said and everything else that they do, we need every single voice that values the BBC to say that – including their biggest rivals in the streaming services. They wouldn’t be here in the UK without the BBC’s ecosystem and the development of that.
“We wouldn’t have the success we have with new musicians and new music without the BBC’s involvement in that. The Labour government is the only government that is going to save the BBC – and thankfully the renewal of the licence fee and the Charter has come around at a time that Labour are in government – otherwise the BBC might completely disappear. So the jeopardy of not getting this right is huge.”
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Music Co-Chair Alex Sobel MP said that the “number one short-term priority” for the Group of MPs and Peers was to get legislation through to deal with ticket touts.
He said: “We need to get it over the line. It is a cost-of-living issue for music fans. For those high demand concerts it is almost impossible for ordinary fans to get tickets”.
The Leeds MP said that the Government also needed to do more to tackle the ongoing challenges facing British bands – including Leeds’ band English Teacher – tour the European Union more easily.
BPI Chief Executive Jo Twist said: “Devolution can unlock enormous opportunities if music is fully embedded into local growth plans and strategies and supported by really strong partnerships.”
Musicians’ Union General Secretary Naomi Pohl said access to music should be everywhere, but warned there were some risks around devolution that had left some music organisations “really struggling”.
She said: “In Birmingham, for example, because of the financial crisis for that local authority they cut 100% of their arts funding from their budget.”
Naomi added: “What’s important for devolution is having the right people and the right plan in the local area who really understand the local area and what it needs – and who can support the companies and the people who make music there.”
UK Music’s Head of Diversity Eunice Obianagha said the industry’s 220,000 workforce could be significantly boosted if more work was done to tackle the barriers to people participating in the music industry and that would “help unlock talent”.
The event followed the launch of the Government’s Music Plan at UK Music’s summer party in July. You can read more about the Music Plan on our website here.
Creative Industries Minister Mr Murray paid tribute to UK Music, Tom Kiehl and UK Music’s members in their work in helping put together the Government’s Music Plan.
Among those in the audience were former Culture Minister Lord Brennan and Baroness Keeley, chair of the House of Lords Communication and Digital Committee.
You can view a photo gallery of the session here.
UK Music and the Musicians’ Union also hosted a special gathering at the legendary Cavern Club in Liverpool following our panel session at the Labour Party conference earlier in the day. The event celebrated the power of live music and featured a raft of great performances, including from Peer Pressure (Lord Brennan of Canton & Lord Evans of Sealand), the Government’s Music Champion Michael Dugher and more.
Special guests included Baroness Ayesha Hazarika who sang You’re So Vain . Other performers were Musicians’ Union Executive Committee member Andi Hopgood, Baroness Jenny Chapman, Baroness Sara Hyde and Sam Pierpoint (percussion).
Guests included Lord John Cryer, Lord Tom Watson of Wyre Forest, Baroness Barbara Keeley, Colum Eastwood MP, Sir Mark Kendrick MP, Ruth Jones MP, Jessica Morden MP, Kerry McCarthy MP, Nick Smith MP, Lord Steve Bassam Of Brighton, Baroness Jenny Chapman and Baroness Sara Hyde.
Musicians in the audience included Tom Gray (Gomez and Ivors Academy Chair) and Sam Duckworth (Get Cape Wear Cape Fly).
You can view a photo gallery of the event here.
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